(Serena)

Have you ever had those feelings that you can never shake away? It's like a rope has been wrapped around your entire body without your say so and it tightens as each day passes by. Like a cage that gets smaller and smaller, trying to force you to let the feelings out, to not be trapped any longer. 

During the first year of middle school, I didn't have many friends. Dawn and May were the ones I hung out with. They knew a few other people and throughout that year we hung out with them from time to time. Then their friends tagged along and slowly, over the course of the first year, we became a group. Our passion for the works of detectives grew from Cilan.

Cilan is the detective maniac. His obsession never has any limits. He made many of us hooked right from the get go and the others eventually joined in. The first time we all realised our passion was the moment we all became a group of friends with strong bonds. It was also the moment I realised something else.

It was almost the start of a new year, December of our first year in middle school to be precise. May had suggested that all of us should watch a film in the club room before the new year started as a sort of celebration. Of course, it was a detective film and Cilan agreed straightaway. He mentioned something about bringing some more friends and the film night was planned and ready. This night, however, wasn't going to end exactly as I had planned it.

The school day went by as fast as it had begun, the air becoming increasingly colder over the course of the day. It wasn't snowing, but the wind was cold and harsh, like it was freezing over everyone's arms, before stopping. By the time our arms were feeling better, the wind came back and it started again. It was so cold that the ground was kind of icy, frost covering the tips of the grass and each breath sending out clouds of cold air. I think it had something to do with condensation...

I was making my way up to the clubroom when I spotted two new people with Cilan. We already had quite a lot of people in our group, so I felt kind of glad that there were only two new additions. I let out a mental sigh before realising that I was just staring at them all. Awkwardly. One had raven hair and the other mahogany. That's all I could notice. I tried to divert my attention away but I was too late. I felt May's hand pat me on the back. She had noticed and was grinning like an idiot.

"Taking a keen interest already, hmm?" she questioned, with an eyebrow raised. "Which one were you thinking about?"

"No one as a matter of fact. I am just glad that there aren't a billion new people coming to the club room," I replied dryly, folding my arms. My reply was serious, but I was interested in them. However, I wasn't about to let that show. Maybe it was already obvious because May was leaning closer to me. 

"Hmm? I think someone is telling lies!" May was obviously teasing me, but it was god damn working. "Come on, no need to keep secrets from little ol' me."

"Hush child," I turned away and continued down the corridor, towards the club room. It wasn't anything special, just an unused classroom near the music club room. We had managed to snatch it up sort of last second and thankfully we were able to use it to watch these films. 

I could tell May was following behind me because I could hear her footsteps. I also felt like she was still grinning. I was in for a rough time, with all of her teasings. Just before opening the door, I let out a sigh and May silently giggled as she followed me in.

"Hey Serena, May. This is Ash and Gary," Cilan was the first here with his friends, who he had just introduced. 

"It's nice to meet you guys, I am May!" May spoke rather energetically, doing what she did best by opening up a chocolate bar. I swear Iris had a radar for May's chocolate eating tendencies because she came charging in with a frown.

"What have I told you about the chocolate?!" Iris went straight for the chocolate hanging loosely from May's left hand, attempting to knock it to the floor. 

"That it is lovely and I should eat it all the time?! I know right!" May replied jokingly, backing off from Iris.

"Grr! Come back here you!" Iris lunged once more and they spent the next minute chasing each other around the classroom, receiving strange looks from our newcomers.

"Hello there. I am Serena," I introduced myself and I looked at Ash, who smiled and then at Gary, who nodded and put his hands in his pockets.

"So, what is going on?" Gary asked and I looked at Ash, who was looking at Gary like the biggest idiot in the world. 

"I swear...to Arceus...if you...forget...one more thing...I will drop our History textbooks on your head," Ash continued to stare at a blank-faced Gary, who shrugged like the threat was no big deal.

"Yeah but seriously, what are we doing here again?" Gary looked around the room, expecting to find some clues as to what we were doing. He looked up at the projector and then across at the main desk, where the DVDs were piled up and in a big group. "Watching a movie? Awesome!"

"You know, for someone so forgetful you do have good intuition," I commented and Gary shrugged again.

"It's no biggie. I am just that freaking awesome!" he grinned like he owned the world, I could already see the word 'EGO' printed on his forehead. This was going to be fun. 

"Gary...you are the most embarrassing human on Earth. Do you understand that?" Ash sighed and rubbed his eyes and I could read him and Gary like a book. I prepared for the egotistical reply.

"All I heard was Gary...you are freaking awesome!" Gary put his bag down and rubbed his hands together. "Where is the popcorn?" 

Ash sighed once more and I couldn't help but giggle a little. He snapped his head up to me and I instantly stopped, but he smiled and took a step forward, putting his bag down also. There was a brief moment as he stepped forward that I felt my heart skip a beat. It was like time had slowed down. I was frozen on the spot, staring directly at Ash. It was like time had frozen just so I could see him in a clear light. It was really strange. 

"Hey, guys!" Dawn and Misty appeared in the doorway and stepped in, closely followed by Kenny and Drew.  

Everyone had taken off their coats and sat down in a semi-circle around the screen. Cilan was sat at the front, setting up the DVD. Everyone sat in awkward silence while he did this, waiting for the DVD to start. There wasn't much conversation to be had, it did feel sort of awkward with two newcomers. Gary seemed a little too full of himself and Ash seemed more secure and a little silent too. He was good looking too. Both of them. Ash was clearly smarter and reserved, a better character. 

"Finally!" May almost jumped for joy with excitement, taking a bite of a fresh chocolate bar.  Iris sighed from the other end of the semi-circle and May stuck her tongue out in reply and then took another bite. 

The film began. It was a detective film, no duh. The film wasn't too long. We only had a limited time anyway since the school classrooms had to be locked up in the evening. The wind had died down outside but it seemed like snow was going to fall at any moment. We spoke as a group throughout the film about the murder mystery and of course Cilan had nailed it just like the film had figured it out before the film had even figured it out. There were a few laughs and overall, the film was a lot of fun. I could tell our newcomers enjoyed it.  Everyone was gathering their things to leave when Ash suddenly walked up to me.

"That was a lot of fun huh?" he asked, making conversation. I felt a bit awkward, not knowing much about him.

"I enjoy films like that. So, have you joined the club?" I had to wonder if they decided to actually join us. Ash nodded and confirmed my question just as May swung the door open.

"Well, goodnight guys!" she pulled out another chocolate bar, opened it and shoved it into her mouth. Just as it was jammed in, May looked up and noticed Iris giving her daggers. "Uh oh, better run!"

"Come back here you chocolate-eating fiend!" Iris sped out of the club room and down the corridor after May. 

"Your friends can be a little weird, you know that?" Ash stated the obvious, but I went for a different reply.

"You can't say much when you have someone like Gary," I couldn't help but grin at Ash, who nodded a little like it was fair.

"Touche," was his reply. 

"I am right here. You know that, right?" Gary's voice came from right behind us both. "Are we already having a nice chit chat? Maybe a first date?! Oh, so soon!" 

"Gary I swear if you don't shut up I will make you," Ash spoke through his teeth, but I could hear him just as clear as Gary could.

"Oh, they grow up so fast!" Gary mocked the average Mom act with a hand across his forehead like he was feeling light headed. Before Ash could react, Gary had hopped through the doorway and straight down the corridor. 

"Sorry Serena, I gotta run," Ash did a little salute in goodbye and then ran out of the door, following after Gary.

"I guess you are liking Ash?" Cilan appeared from out of nowhere, just like Gary had. It made me feel a little deja vu. "He is different to the rest of us, I guess."

"They're both alright. Are they joining the club?" I remembered that Ash hadn't answered me. 

"I second that question!" Dawn had to shout to have her voice heard as she was ducking under a table to grab her scarf. 

"I think so. He didn't say anything but I gave them forms..." Cilan shrugged as his voice trailed off and then he zipped up his coat. "Shall we get going?" 

Everyone else agreed and we set off home. Cilan, Misty and Dawn all lived close by to each other, so they usually took a left when Kenny, Drew and I took a right. We got to the end of that street and parted ways. Drew and Kenny finally spoke for the first time. 

"I wonder what is for dinner..." was all Drew could say, however.

"So, did you enjoy the film, Serena?" Kenny asked me as we avoided the slippery areas of the path, trying our best to get home without a single scratch, like a new car with fresh paint. 

"It was nice and short, straight to the point. Yeah, I guess I did," I shrugged. There wasn't much else to say really. 

"I wonder if Cilan will get any of them wrong." Drew looked up at the sky in thought. I followed his eyes and realised how dark it was getting. The night sky had already fallen like a blanket of black wool. That's when the snow began to fall.

"Snow," I paused, snow falling right on my nose. It was cold but made me happy. Snow was great. It beat the boiling hot summers we had each year, that much was for sure.

"No duh," Kenny laughed and the other two carried on walking up the street. 

I turned my head momentarily and noticed raven hair out of the corner of my eye. Ash? What was he doing here? I had never seen him before walking to school or even back home. He was frozen on the spot, looking at the ground, before he suddenly collapsed onto his knees. 

"Go on without me!" I half-yelled at Kenny and Drew, who were still walking on anyway and I dashed down the street to Ash. I felt my bag uncomfortably pressing against my side and my hair was all over the place. But I didn't care. "Ash? Are you okay?" 

Ash wasn't facing me but I could see something was up. I stepped around him and slowly knelt down to his level, tucking my skirt in so I could keep my knees from freezing off against the cold ground. That's when I noticed the tears trickling down his face, like a tap that was still on but only just, dripping every few seconds. 

"My...my..." Ash sniffled, clearly struggling to keep himself together. "Dad..."

I pretty much guessed what he was going to say at that point and I instinctively clung onto him like I was never going to let go, passing on all of my warmth and care. As much as I could. He slowly put his arms around my back and began to cry, even more, letting it all out.

"Why my Dad?" he whispered through the tears.

"It's okay Ash," I said, feeling a little overwhelmed myself. It was a couple of hours after just meeting him and here I was, hugging him tight and supporting him. It was like the world had just completely flipped itself on its head and caused chaos and destruction. The overwhelming feeling hit me like a tonne of bricks and I couldn't help but share his pain and start crying too.

As the snow continued to fall around us, we sat in the middle of the street and shared a moment that I was never going to forget. Whether I liked him or not didn't really matter. As a new friend, it was my duty to ensure that he was okay. To ensure that nothing bad was to happen to him.

After that, Ash and I became even better friends and began talking more often. I would spend hours on my phone in bed talking to him and we even started walking to school together. Of course, it took a few months at first since Ash had to recover from the pain of losing a family member. I didn't fully understand but I supported him and everyone else did too. Ash's Dad's murder never got solved. The case was closed as the lack of evidence continued to push the police back every day. Ash didn't give up, however. Even with constant nagging from his Mom, Ash pushed himself through countless all-nighters and months of pain trying to investigate. He knew it was going nowhere but he couldn't rest while his own Dad's killer was out there. This was his inspiration for the club. This was the inspiration we all came to share throughout the second year. 

Ash was a beacon of light. Even through the darkness and tears, there was a bright light emanating from his body. I wanted to shelter myself in this light. Keep me safe. But with Ash giving me light, I would have to give him all of mine. To ensure that the pain he felt would never come again. 

It's kind of strange. I instantly felt something for Ash right from the get go. It was his smile. Time had frozen when he smiled at me. There was something telling me that he was meant to come into my life. The emotional level we reached on that night was something I had never reached with anyone else before. It created a bond that I carried with me through the remaining years of middle school right to the doors of the high school that beckoned us closer. 

They were ready to open. The new year was waiting to begin. All that was left was the ringing of the bell and the opening of those doors and we were in business. 

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So I think it is time to kick start the main story. We have the background for the club set up and the background for amourshipping ready. Let's get on with the show!

I hope you enjoyed and if you have any questions/see any mistakes/want me to look at something then go for it in the comments.

Don't forget to vote and that's all for now, have a nice weekend and Friday all!

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